473,320 Members | 1,900 Online
Bytes | Software Development & Data Engineering Community
Post Job

Home Posts Topics Members FAQ

Join Bytes to post your question to a community of 473,320 software developers and data experts.

Building a front-end interface

2
Hi,
This is my first time on this message. I hope I am posting this question in the right place...

I work for a 60+ person operation and I am in charge of upgrading us off of our FileMaker 5.0 application. I've decide to use an MSSQL Server back-end, but I'm not sure about the front-end. Previously (for other projects) I've created a web based front end using classic ASP with JavaScript, VBScript, DHTML, CSS, etc., but I'm not sure if that's the best idea here. Perhaps there's newer or better technology out there...?
The application will have 25-50 tables and require a lot of data entry. The users will require flexible searching, exporting, and reporting capabilities. Also, it will have to retrieve data that we have stored in our as400 (which is part of a custom application that we can not modify and is not going anywhere).

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,
sqlgal
Feb 13 '07 #1
9 3408
NeoPa
32,556 Expert Mod 16PB
I only really know the Access side of that question.
Access would do a fine job technically. Where the more web based approaches win out though is in flexibility of presentation (where do you want to access it from - Office bound? etc.). I'll let someone more qualified than me give you the full SP on that though.
Feb 13 '07 #2
Banfa
9,065 Expert Mod 8TB
My understanding is that MS SQL scales much, much better than access.

I would imagine that ASP.NET or Visual basic .NET or C# (using .NET) or even at a pinch C++ using .NET would be the language to write the user interface in.

Using Visual Studio you will find that a lot of the hard work is taken out of writing everything as it will integrate MS SQL and ASP.NET relatively easily.

As to the AS400 you will need to find out how the data it stores can be accessed before deciding on a method to do it.
Feb 14 '07 #3
AricC
1,892 Expert 1GB
I would say something .Net. You should figure out a few things first though. Do you want the app to be accessible through the web if yes then ASP.Net is the way to go, forget ASP classic. If it's just an inter-office type of thing use VB.Net, C#, or even Access. This all assumes that you have Visual Studio.

Aric
Feb 14 '07 #4
NeoPa
32,556 Expert Mod 16PB
Just to be clear, I was commenting on Access as a specifically Front-End piece of this puzzle. Not suggesting it for the Back-End.
Feb 14 '07 #5
MMcCarthy
14,534 Expert Mod 8TB
You should be able to link the AS400 data tables into your SQL database. Not sure of the method but I'm sure someone else here will be. As NeoPa said .NET would be the best development environment regardless of which language you use. It can probably facilitate the integration of the AS400 data as well but I'll leave that question to the .NET experts.

Mary
Feb 14 '07 #6
Killer42
8,435 Expert 8TB
You should be able to link the AS400 data tables into your SQL database. Not sure of the method but I'm sure someone else here will be. As NeoPa said .NET would be the best development environment regardless of which language you use. It can probably facilitate the integration of the AS400 data as well but I'll leave that question to the .NET experts.
Using .Net limits you to Windows-only, doesn't it? (I realise that's a pretty wide "limit" these days, but there are plenty of people who prefer other environments).
Feb 14 '07 #7
sqlgal
2
thanks for all the replies.

initially, the application would just be for within the office, but my goal would be to allow our users access from outside of the office and then ultimately allow our clients to securely log in to see their information.

another question: if i do go ahead and develop with .net - of which i have never studied, what's the best and fastest way to learn it? reading books/websites or investing in a training course? any specific recommendations (of books or courses).

thanks,
sqlgal
Feb 14 '07 #8
MMcCarthy
14,534 Expert Mod 8TB
thanks for all the replies.

initially, the application would just be for within the office, but my goal would be to allow our users access from outside of the office and then ultimately allow our clients to securely log in to see their information.

another question: if i do go ahead and develop with .net - of which i have never studied, what's the best and fastest way to learn it? reading books/websites or investing in a training course? any specific recommendations (of books or courses).

thanks,
sqlgal
Any new application is best learned by doing a short course on it and then using books and forums like this to expand your knowledge. Doing the course will give you the basics.

Mary
Feb 14 '07 #9
r035198x
13,262 8TB
I would have to suggest PHP for you here. It is very easy to learn and not difficult to connect to MS SQL. There is also lots of free support for such a technology if you get into any problems.
Feb 14 '07 #10

Sign in to post your reply or Sign up for a free account.

Similar topics

2
by: Bennett Haselton | last post by:
I'm looking for a PHP tutorial that specializes in how to build sites that are based around user logins. i.e. the user logs in on the front page, and are taken to a main login page where fields on...
2
by: Michael T. Babcock | last post by:
I have a list of column headings and an array of values: headings, values = , I want to construct a dictionary such that d = 1 and so on. The first way I tried to do this was: d = {} for...
5
by: Roy Smith | last post by:
I've got a silly little problem that I'm solving in C++, but I got to thinking about how much easier it would be in Python. Here's the problem: You've got a list of words (actually, they're...
0
by: Dan | last post by:
I am trying to figure out the best way to set up a development environment for several remote developers working on an ASP.NET project with VisualStudio.NET. Here are the issues. All the...
11
by: Drew | last post by:
I would like to explore some different ways to build a link out of the following string from a db, Fiscal; swvtc/fiscal/fiscaldata.asp: Records; swvtc/records/recordsdata.asp: Which is just a...
1
by: Joze Dedic | last post by:
Hi! I'm starting to build environment with schematic like gui. Some features I need are: - building blocks - connections between blocks - zoom in/out capability - grid (sheet showable, snap...
1
by: RWC | last post by:
Hi Folks, I should begin by saying I'm fairly new to SQL Server. I'm an application developer who has built front ends atop Server, but have never done much in the way of design / development....
2
by: AlternativaMente | last post by:
I need help to build a simcity-like game. Exspecially I don't know how I can render the graphics. I'm looking for a not-too-difficult way to do it Thanks in advance Emanuele
2
by: Steve Hershoff | last post by:
Hi everyone, I'm noodling over the best way to construct a URL with a new querystring variable. Let's say I want to take my existing page's URL and append a new variable with accompanying...
2
by: Alex Buell | last post by:
Hi, I've been working on building my own toolchain running on Linux. I'm currently building a 'freestanding' library along with startup code to be linked together. Unfortunately I've run into...
0
by: DolphinDB | last post by:
The formulas of 101 quantitative trading alphas used by WorldQuant were presented in the paper 101 Formulaic Alphas. However, some formulas are complex, leading to challenges in calculation. Take...
0
by: DolphinDB | last post by:
Tired of spending countless mintues downsampling your data? Look no further! In this article, you’ll learn how to efficiently downsample 6.48 billion high-frequency records to 61 million...
0
by: ryjfgjl | last post by:
ExcelToDatabase: batch import excel into database automatically...
0
by: jfyes | last post by:
As a hardware engineer, after seeing that CEIWEI recently released a new tool for Modbus RTU Over TCP/UDP filtering and monitoring, I actively went to its official website to take a look. It turned...
0
by: ArrayDB | last post by:
The error message I've encountered is; ERROR:root:Error generating model response: exception: access violation writing 0x0000000000005140, which seems to be indicative of an access violation...
1
by: PapaRatzi | last post by:
Hello, I am teaching myself MS Access forms design and Visual Basic. I've created a table to capture a list of Top 30 singles and forms to capture new entries. The final step is a form (unbound)...
0
by: CloudSolutions | last post by:
Introduction: For many beginners and individual users, requiring a credit card and email registration may pose a barrier when starting to use cloud servers. However, some cloud server providers now...
0
by: Defcon1945 | last post by:
I'm trying to learn Python using Pycharm but import shutil doesn't work
0
by: Faith0G | last post by:
I am starting a new it consulting business and it's been a while since I setup a new website. Is wordpress still the best web based software for hosting a 5 page website? The webpages will be...

By using Bytes.com and it's services, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

To disable or enable advertisements and analytics tracking please visit the manage ads & tracking page.